Computer users have traditionally entered text into word processors through a keyboard and mouse. In recent years, however, word processors have become more sophisticated by allowing users to enter text into them through other input methods, such as speech or handwriting. Although a computer cannot always interpret such input with complete accuracy, a computer can generate a list of text alternatives for the input. Furthermore, the computer can often assign to each alternative a probability that the alternative is the one the user intended. Input that produces such probabilistic results is called “stochastic input,” while input that can be accurately determined, such as typed text, is called “non-stochastic input.”
Typically, text produced in a word processor from stochastic input must be heavily edited by the user in order to produce the text intended by the user when he or she created the stochastic input. The editing process has been simplified by allowing the user to select text created from stochastic data and request alternatives for the text selection. In response, the computer can provide the user with alternatives for the text selection through a graphical user interface. If the user chooses one of the alternatives, the computer replaces the text selection with the selected alternative.
Suppose that after a user creates text in a word processor by providing the word processor with stochastic input, such as speech, the user then edits the text. The user may, for example, replace a word of the text with a new word typed into the computer with a keyboard. Current word processors do not incorporate typed text edits into the alternatives they provide for an edited text selection. Thus, there is a need in the art for a method of providing alternatives to edited text derived from stochastic input.
Another problem occurs if the user attempts to request alternatives for a text selection spanning multiple stochastic input sources. For instance, the user may request alternatives for a text selection containing a word based on handwriting input and a word based on speech input. Current word processors are not capable of providing meaningful alternatives for such a text selection. Thus, there is also a need in the art for a method of providing alternatives for a text selection derived from multiple stochastic input sources.
An input method editor (IME) is another word processor input method that produces stochastic data. Generally, an IME converts input into foreign language text. The input into an IME may, for example, be typed text entered into the computer through a keyboard and mouse. An IME is especially useful for creating ideograms in Asian and other languages. Because there are many more ideograms in such languages than there are keys on a keyboard, entering a particular ideogram into the computer typically requires multiples keystrokes, which the IME interprets as a composed character.
In a typical IME, a user may type in English characters defining a phonetic spelling for a desired Chinese character. Since many Chinese characters have similar pronunciations, the typed phonetic spelling may represent any one of a number of different Chinese characters. The IME then provides the user with the most probable candidates corresponding to the typed phonetic spelling so that the user can choose the correct one.
Programmers have previously recognized the value of providing speech input into an IME. This is done by first converting the speech into text, which is then used as input into the IME. As has already been explained, however, the interpretation of speech is stochastic in nature. Hence, the text produced by the speech interpreter may not be the text that was intended by the user. If incorrect text is used as input into the IME, the results produced by the IME are likely to be poor. Accordingly, when speech is used as input into an IME, the program interpreting the speech data typically allows the user to first correct the text produced by the speech interpreter before inputting that text into the IME. When the IME produces foreign language translations of the text, the user may again choose the desired alternative because the result of an IME is also stochastic in nature. Requiring the user to edit the results at two different stages of the process can be inefficient and inconvenient. Thus, there is a further need in the art for an improved method of handling speech input to an IME.